About the Book

“Robert Hafey takes us on a whimsical journey of a Baby Boomer’s childhood story in his delightful memoir Boomhood. Of particular interest to me was his chapter on It Takes Faith to be an Angel. He acknowledges early on that he was raised as a Catholic, but it didn’t stick. However, it taught him perspective: The wisdom to understand the difference between hopes and actions.”
—Richard E. “Dick” Kelly, author of Growing Up in Mama’s Club

“Hafey’s memoir illustrates the enduring truth that the universal is found in the particular. His tales of faith and doubt, status anxiety and childhood relationships all intertwined with the childhood stories of a generation are easily recognizable, and not just by Boomers like me. Hard to imagine a reader who won’t find some delightful story that serves as a trigger for his or her recollections.”
—Dr. Michael Cunningham, Professor, Lewis University

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From the book:

This is not a book of immense grief, sadness, or drama. It is simply a book about a child’s often-fun experiences that everyone can and will identify with. Writing it helped me understand me. My intent is to help others understand themselves. If you are a baby boomer, reading this book may cause some soul-searching as you reflect on your free-range childhood and consider how it has made you the person you are today. For boomers and non-boomers alike, this book demonstrates is that you can better understand others when learning about their experiences.

My childhood, along with those of many baby-boomers, was a free-range childhood. Our back doors were like swinging gates that we left and entered as we wished. From an early age, we independently roamed far and wide without parental supervision or oversight.

The freedom to explore and learn helped shape me so I fit neatly into a diverse society, not just a fragmented piece of it. The timing of my childhood could not have been better, for it broadened my horizons and helped prepare me to understand and accept the larger, complex world in which we all live today.